It wasn't long before the other men managed to make their way down to where Vincent and Sephiroth had been, and it was indeed unfortunate that Vincent couldn't see their expressions.

Hojo held a hand to his side, where the bullet had caught him. He started to climb through the holes, and stopped at the entrance to the second corridor looking down. Glancing back and forth from the hallway and on down to the other end. Calmly, he turned to the men gathering around him. "Why are you all just standing around?"

"But, Sir. Which way did they-"

"That'd be a good thing to find out now wouldn't it? Why don't you imbeciles start by SPLITTING UP!"

The entire group jumped when he raised his voice, scattering like cockroaches. "I want that boy back within the hour." He cringed, holding his hand tighter over the wound. "And I want Vincent dead."

xXx

"Vincent, you don't have to carry me." Not that Sephiroth was really minding that part, but Vincent was hurt. He seemed tired, and was perspiring pretty profusely.

"It's fine."

"But your leg."

Vincent shook his head. "I've got more important things to worry about. Just stay quiet." He darted down another corridor Out of nowhere, a chill cut through Vincent's nerves. He spun sharply, clutching Sephiroth tighter to him. What was this feeling? His gleaming eyes flitted back and forth, trying to find where it was coming from.

"Ok." Vincent sighed, setting Sephiroth on the floor. He pulled the gun from his pants, holding it ready, the other hand drawing Sephiroth close to his side.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Something's not right here." They crept slowly down the hall, trying to tread quietly. Some unknown force stirred inside of Vincent. He didn't know what it was, but something wanted to react.

"(What is this feeling?)"

Sephiroth clung to the coat hanging off of Vincent. He didn't like how tense he was all of a sudden. It made him nervous. "Is it a guard?"

"I'm not sure." Vincent whispered, gripping tighter to the gun.

Vincent leaned against the wall and, peered around the next corridor.

It wasn't until he pulled Sephiroth around with him that he started to realize where they were. It was a series of what seemed to be a storage facility for the labs. The walls were lined with glass cabinets, each shining with the same green light that was reflected within the chamber he was found in.

Vincent's eyes fell on them, seemingly entranced by the different bobbles floating in the liquid.

Sephiroth stared at them as well, the light only enhancing the glow of his eyes. "What are they?"

Vincent stepped closer, reaching a hand towards the glass. "I think… they're specimens. Maybe for experiments." Once his hand touched the cool glass, it was as if a bolt shot straight into his brain. A yell of both surprise and pain escaped his throat in a low growl. The gun clattered against the tiled floor, his hands snapping up to his head.

"Vincent?" Sephiroth took a step back, almost afraid again.

Another growl escaped Vincent as he collapsed to his knees. The fire seemed to split to burn in both his head and stomach. What was happening? It almost felt as if the fire had claws that were trying to rip it's way out of his body.

"Vincent? Are you ok? What's wrong?" He went to grab his shoulders when a hand snapped up around his wrist. The grip was tight, but not quite enough to really hurt.

Vincent breathed in heavily "Don't….. touch… me." His voice sounded more a growl than his normal one, forcing Sephiroth to draw back. He pulled from Vincent's grip, and backed up against the glass, holding his wrist. He started to tremble more from worry than anything else. What was wrong with him? "Vincent?" He whispered softly. "Don't leave me."

Vincent's head snapped up to him. His face was contorted in what appeared to be rage, the golden gleam in his eyes making the small child gasp in fear. "Please, don't leave me." He sobbed, pulling his arms around himself.

A mix of red swirled strongly over the golden color. Vincent's breathing was still ragged, but at least he sounded like himself. He groaned, raking a hand through his hair. A sharp pain pierced the back of his leg. With a more human growl this time, Vincent ripped away the wrappings around his wound. He cringed when it pulled at his skin, feeling tighter than it should have been. To his surprise the bullet wound was no longer bleeding. In fact, it seemed to be closing.

"V-Vin-cent?" Sephiroth took a step closer, still a bit wary.

"I'm fine." Vincent sighed. He glanced back up at the specimens floating behind the sheen of green. What was happening to him? This was something he'd never experienced before. Sephiroth settled down to sit on the floor next to him. Vincent put an arm around him and whispered, "Hojo, what the hell did you do to me?"

"A valid question. Too bad you won't live long enough to find out."

Vincent's head snapped up, his arms drawing Sephiroth closer to him. Terry was standing towards the end of the hall, in the direction they had just came. He, and a small mob of men, each had their guns drawn on them. "I thought for a while that the Professor would want you back alive, seeing as how you have valuable specimens inside you, but it seems you've grown too bothersome. He's ordered your elimination."

Sephiroth clung tighter to Vincent. He may not have known him for long, but Vincent seemed to be the only one the small child didn't wish death on.

Vincent just laughed. A strange sound that made them both shiver. "Believe me, I'd be all for it. I don't know what all Hojo did to me, and I don't want to live long enough to remember. But there's a slight snag in that logic." He glanced down at Sephiroth, who didn't seem to like what he was saying. "I promised this child here that I'd protect him. That no matter what it took, I'd make sure he got away from this hell hole." He glanced back at Terry, the white's of his eyes corroded with gold. "And I'm not one to break my promises."

As if to say 'too bad' Terry fired off a shot. The bullet rang out against the tile floor, hitting where Vincent had just been. The ex-Turk was standing off to the side, Sephiroth cradled in his arms, not even seeming to care that his back was now to them. Two fangs glistened at Terry as he smiled. "You missed."

A chill ran through the Turk's body, as he fired again. This time he caught what happened. Vincent seemed to vanish in a wisp of smoke, only to reappear right behind him. A black hand snapped around his neck, poking the long claws into his skin. "Tell me, Terry." His voice seemed tainted again. Deeper, and a tad more ragged. "What's it like to not only be inadequate to me… but afraid?"

Sephiroth clung to Vincent's waist, wishing he'd stop talking like that. What was wrong with him?

Terry managed to twist his gun arm around and fired at Vincent, only to have him dodge again. He rubbed his neck, breathing harsh. "What're you all waiting for!? FIRE!"

A barrage of bullets echoed through the small hallway. However, none of them seemed to have any effect. Vincent still managed to dodge them all, though none of them could even see him move.

At least one of the bullets crashed into the specimen jars, shattering the glass, and spilling the gooey creatures and liquid all over the tiled floor.

Vincent finally stopped moving.

A pulse echoed through his body, forcing him to drop Sephiroth. The small child fell to his hands and knees, with a splash into the green liquid. He looked at the glowing green corroding his palm. A sudden terror washed over him, and his gaze shot back up to Vincent. His entire body was shaking, the only trace of red still in his eyes seeming to flicker back and forth between a deep golden color. He let out that un-human growl again, hands pressing in on the side of his head. Sephiroth's fear was growing. He could feel Vincent falling further and further away from him. He looked around at the flipping critters, and he knew. It was these things. For some reason, being around these creatures makes him crazy. He had to get him out of here.

Terry laughed, closing in, his gun drawn. "Who's afraid now, Valentine?"

In a literal flash, Vincent was standing over one of his subordinates, splattered in blood. The subordinate lay on the ground, broken in half. His head slowly twisted towards him, skin paler than usual, his eyes now glowing with a fierce gold. Sharp fangs glistened from behind his lips as he spoke. "You were saying?"

Sephiroth cringed. That didn't sound anything like Vincent anymore. What was happening?

With the men frozen in fear, Sephiroth managed to jump to his feet, and grab Vincent's arm. He dragged him down the hall, the way he thought they were going, and on around the corner.

It took them a while to get far enough away from the area, until Vincent fell to the ground behind him, forcing him to stop. "Vincent?" Sephiroth turned around, falling to his knees, next to Vincent. His skin was burning up. His breathing ragged, but at least it sounded more like himself. "Vincent, please. You can't leave me. VINCENT!"

"Shh." Vincent held a hand up to him, his voice not wanting to work. He tried to push himself onto his knees, arms shaking.

Sephiroth sat a little ways back, not sure what to make of the situation. "Vincent?"

Vincent looked around at their surroundings. "Where are we?" His throat felt like it was on fire, and it hurt to talk. "Where's Terry?"

Sephiroth nearly broke into tears, throwing his arms around the ex-Turk's neck. "Vincent, you're ok!"

"Seph?" He hugged the small child back, a little concerned at why he was so scared. "What's-" Something seemed to catch his senses, and Vincent 's head snapped back in the direction they came, clutching Sephiroth tighter.

"What is it?"

"Shh." Soon after, Vincent lifted the frail body up into his arms and ran. He cut around a few corners, soon coming to a halt at a dead end. "Wait a minute." Vincent looked back. "Something's not right."

"Did we make a wrong turn?"

"I-I don't know. I don't think so." His paranoia chimed up stronger, sensing the approaching crowd. "No."

"Should we turn around?"

"We can't."

"Then what do we-"

Vincent clamped tighter to Sephiroth, and spun around. With another growl, he kicked the back wall with all his might.

Sephiroth winced, clinging to his neck.

Vincent kicked the wall a couple more times, his eyes narrowing as if examining it. "Hmm." He put Sephiroth down, and nudged him closer to the adjacent wall. "Stay put."

A sick feeling pushed in on his stomach. Vincent seemed mad that they were lost, and he knew it was his fault. He had most likely strayed from the path while he was leading Vincent away from the flopping creatures. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making my own path." Vincent walked up to the wall, knocking on it in different areas. He stepped back, and seemed to do some kind of flying spin kick, knocking a large dent in the wall. He jumped back again, jumping forward to kick in the dent again, knocking a small hole. He mostly just broke away the rest of the wall, until a large hole scarred the pristine white walls. One just big enough for him to fit through. He stuck his head in, looking up through the inner mechanisms of the wall. Vincent turned back to Sephiroth holding a hand out to him, his eyes contradicting the brutality of his recent actions. "Come on. We're getting out of here."

Sephiroth smiled, running forward to grab Vincent's hand. "Can you climb?"

"Uh, yea. But where are we going?"

"Up and out. As far as you can go."

##

AN: nyu